There was no question of whether or not 'Thor: The Dark World' was going to open at number one this weekend. Of course it was. The big question was whether it would get a post-'Avengers' bump, or if it would do similar business to its 2011 predecessor. Question answered: it got a bump and a pretty good one, too.

Film

Weekend

Per Screen

1

Thor: The Dark World

$86,109,000

$22,418

$86,109,000

2

Bad Grandpa

$11,300,000 (-43.5)

$3,546

$78,747,000

3

Free Birds

$11,180,000 (-29.3)

$2,993

$30,196,000

4

Last Vegas

$11,100,000 (-32.0)

$3,602

$33,531,000

5

Ender's Game

$10,250,000 (-62.1)

$3,009

$44,001,000

6

Gravity

$8,405,000 (-34.5)

$3,090

$231,119,000

7

12 Years a Slave

$6,600,000 (+37.7)

$5,769

$17,346,000

8

Captain Phillips

$5,800,000 (-31.0)

$2,192

$90,982,000

9

About Time

$5,172,000 (+380.6)

$4,310

$6,690,000

10

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

$2,800,000 (-32.5)

$1,525

$109,976,000

Although it certainly didn't do the business of 'The Avengers' or 'Iron Man 3,' the $86 million opening for 'Thor: The Dark World' easily cleared the original film's $65 million opening. If people like it and talk about it (and it seems like that is most certainly going to be the case), it should be able to effortlessly surpass the first film's $181 million domestic gross. In fact, the new Thor adventure is already a huge hit overseas, so unless something disastrous happens, everyone at Marvel and Disney is going to be pretty pleased with how all of this goes down.

Second place this weekend went to 'Bad Grandpa,' which took in another $11 million for a $78 million gross. At this rate, $100 million isn't out of the question, but it's definitely the high watermark. But that's not a problem -- they made this for pennies and it's already absurdly profitable. It could stop making money tomorrow and no one would be too unhappy.

In third place, 'Free Birds' took a minor tumble, earning $11 million. The family-friendly, animated time-traveling turkey movie has now earned $30 million, which isn't too bad for a movie that seems to have been made on the relative cheap. If it hangs on throughout November, it may even get a Thanksgiving bump.

With an $11 million weekend and a $33 million total, 'Last Vegas' is walking, but not running, toward being profitable. It's not a smash hit, but it looks unlikely that anyone will actually lose money on this one.

As for 'Ender's Game' in fifth place? Oof. With Thor stealing much of its business, the sci-fi film plummeted 62%, tumbling from first place and only earning $10 million over the weekend. With $44 million in the bank, it has a long, hard and most likely impossible climb toward actually making its budget back.

Meanwhile, 'Gravity' continued to showcase its endurance, adding $8 million to its gross for a grand total of $231 million. It should definitely be able to reach $250 million before it leaves theaters, making it one of the biggest (and most deserving) hits of 2013.

In seventh place, '12 Years a Slave' grossed $6 million for a $17 million total, making excellent use of its first weekend in wide release. This difficult Oscar favorite is not the kind of movie that'll make blockbuster money, but it didn't cost too much. It'll most likely be a minor hit at the box office, but its true rewards will come during awards season.

At $90 million, 'Captain Phillips' can taste that $100 million. It just needs another strong weekend or two to get there and then it can quietly leave theaters a bigger hit than anyone expected.

Finally, Richard Curtis' 'About Time' expanded this weekend, taking in a decent $5 million. Not bad for a quiet release, but time will tell if it can gain some momentum.